Country Style Breakfast
by melodicSiren
Summary: A moment in time where Lex and Clark aren't completely at odds. Not when it includes their son. ((Connor's dads))


"We're back."

Lex Luthor glanced up from his papers at the sound, turning slightly in his chair to face his rival, who stood on his terrace. A cool breeze swept through the apartment, bringing with it the smell of ozone and smoke. There had been a huge battle and Superman, despite his formidable lineage, was looking worse-for-wear. His cape had been torn, his suit was ripped in places and he seemed to be too tired to hover. The balding man simply turned back to his work, too used to these intrusions to care very much. However there was something weighing on his mind…

"Conner?" he questioned. The hero didn't need any more to understand what he meant.

"He's fine; His team went out for pizza to celebrate." Lex nodded and moved to shuffle the papers on his desk. Superman quirked an eyebrow- half the sheets were upside down. He moved into the room to get a better look at his enemy's face, noting the deep purple rings under his eyes.

"Have you not been sleeping?" It wasn't like Luthor to look anything less than immaculate. The tired man leaped up, becoming furious seemingly out of nowhere.

"Of course I haven't been sleeping! You think I can sleep when my son and his only other guardian are out in space somewhere fighting some crazy monster!? And I couldn't do anything about it…" His voice softened and he deflated, collapsing back into his chair exhaustedly, holding his head in his hands. Superman watched his years-old rival seem to fall apart before his eyes. Never before had he seen Lex look so small, and to be honest it frightened him. Not that Lex seeming so fatigued was necessarily a bad thing, but seeing someone he knew to be so strong for such a long time- it was alarming. Memories from when they were young skipped around in the back of his mind and he found himself at Lex's side, helping him up to mild protests and guiding him to his room, telling him to get some sleep and that everything was ok.

An hour later found Conner landing clumsily on the terrace; dirtied up and tired, but content. There was a light on in the room, and the sound of rustling pages, so he called out.

"Hey Dad? Can I crash here tonight?"

"I'm sure your dad won't mind." Conner blinked in surprise, seeing his other father sitting in one of Lex's plush chairs reading a novel.

"Oh, uh, hi Pop. What are you doing here?" he managed to articulate. Superman only shrugged and offered him a slight smile.

"You're not the only one who's tired. Go to your room and get some sleep." Conner frowned, curious and confused, but nodded and made his way out of the office and down the hall after a brief 'good night'. Clark watched him go, the book held loosely in his hand as he started to drift off…

Whatever Lex had been expecting when he walked into his kitchen that morning, it wasn't to find Superman, in full (tattered) costume; cooking what looked like five pounds of bacon, an entire loaf of bread's worth of toast and a dozen scrambled eggs. The smell of coffee and orange juice mingled with the other breakfast scents, creating a delicious aroma that wafted about, slowly filling the space. Though that really wasn't the main concern.

"Clark, What are you doing?" He asked. His voice sounded simply exasperated, lacking its usual bite. The other man spun around in surprise at the sound of his rival's voice, but his expression quickly turned sheepish.

"I'm used to getting up early and making breakfast like this whenever Conner is over… I guess it just sort of… transferred over?" One foot scuffed the floor awkwardly as he stood in Lex's kitchen, holding an egg-covered spatula and wearing yesterday's dirty uniform. He and Lex might not get along, but he knew what he was doing inappropriate- Lex wasn't even doing anything illegal at the moment.

"You two need this much food?"

In his defense, he really hadn't been getting enough sleep. This didn't stop Lex from cringing slightly as soon as the words left his mouth. Being only half awake, he'd said the first thing that had come to mind. He rubbed his face tiredly and plunked himself into the closest chair available at the table. Finally the important part of what Clark had said surfaced in his mind.

"Wait, Conner's here?" he questioned, snapping back up to look at man at the stove. Superman nodded.

"He came in last night saying he was too tired to jump all the way back home." He chuckled, "Can't say I'm surprised, the last few days have been… eventful." Lex scowled.

"I really wish you wouldn't drag him into those things. It's not safe." _And I can't be there. _

"It's his choice, Lex." Clark chided, "You have to respect that." Lex knew he was right, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

An uncomfortable silence fell over them, broken only by sizzling bacon and the clatter of utensils as Clark returned to cooking. After a few minutes of this Lex suddenly stood up and started to help, getting plates and cutlery and taking the condiments out of the fridge, placing them on the table.

"We should go to that new waterpark near Star City."

Clark reeled slightly from the abruptness of the statement. It sounded like such a strange thing to come from Lex, that he was fairly sure he must have imagined it.

"What?" So it wasn't very articulate; it was better than staring at him dumbly. The business man smirked a bit at Superman's disconcerted expression, having to hold back a bark of laughter.

"I said we should go to the waterpark by Star City. All three of us. Sort of a family outing. How does that sound?"

"It sounds like the beginning of some horrible scheme." Clark deadpanned. As long as he knew him, Lex was never a family sort of guy.

"No schemes, I swear." Lex smirked, but Clark noticed something about it was different from usual; it seemed more open, more genuine. He groaned lightly to himself, thinking he was probably going to regret this, but…

"Alright, fine." He smiled lightly. "I think we all deserve a break after that whole ordeal."

Anything that would have been said after that was interrupted by sluggish footsteps coming down the hall. Conner entered the kitchen, half awake. Greetings were passed, pleasantries were shared; and all to the sounds of bacon in a pan…

((This is it most likely- I wanted to leave it on a positive open ending. ))


End file.
